INTRODUCTION TO YOGA LADDER

 INTRODUCTION    PART ONE

 YOGA  LADDER

SPIRITUAL  WISDOM  TO  KNOW  YOURSELF  TO  KNOW  GOD

Articles by Anandamayi dasi


AN INTRODUCTION TO YOGA LADDER PHILOSOPHY   

Spiritual Wisdom is a gift offered to someone who wants to find one's spiritual position and the origin of one's existence. This wisdom covers many layers of knowledge through a whole spectrum of religious paths or the philosophy of one's level of consciousness. We can say that as many religons exist as many persons are there, and what is the most interesting, each philosophical conclusion of such religion's position is serious, right and unavoidable to pass through in the future or was experienced in the past. 
In Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Hindu religious text Krsna the mine character and speaker of the Gita, God Himself,  says we are all on the path back to Godhead, but at the end of His teachings He advises us to give up all religious paths and just surrender unto Him, and He promises at the same time complete care and deliverance from material bondage. 
What it means? Surrender? We have mentioned that each of us is on a certain position with one's own religion or philosophy of leaving, or pertaining to a certain religious group institution, or so one and this constitutes our existence, and that is to be given up, all at once, everything what we believe, want, desire, hanker etc. Our whole world is to be left behind with the only one goal to absorb completely our consciousness in God.
That is of course very difficult task, even if one wishes to do that he has too strong ropes binding him to the past life and future desires. Therefore Krsna as universal God advises us in Bhagavad Gita ch.12.8-12 to follow more easy ways which we call generally Yoga Ladder. First He is mentioning complete absorption in Him alone as the best, but if this is too high level to adjust He suggests Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion to God through regulative principles as the second solution. Then many other paths saying 'If it is too difficult for you to follow the path of unalloyed devotion do this, if it is also too difficult then do that, etc. This statement of God alone gives us some idea that we are not so ready for the highest platforms of meditation, that our bhakti is tinged by some influences, that we need some other way or process to follow, to realize it and rise above it, but gradually. This means we cannot jump immediately to the top and claim we are the first class Yogis. If someone claims he sees and still keeps a stick in his hand to walk that means it is only a cheating and that he is still blind.
Therefore we want to discuss here the Yoga Ladder not from the top but start from the beginning to gradually guide one to the higher understandings, rising consciousness through the Chakras not only within one's physical body but also high above it. 

 

INTRODUCTION    PART TWO

This part of Introduction we will start from the distinction between humans.
There is the idea of a 'Two Legs Animals', this are the humans who do not follow the injunctions of the saintly spiritual texts coming from God Himself or from His followers, in that context those persons who live without faith in God are called Two Legs Animals.
This level of consciousness one represents is under the line of Human race in deeper sense and is considered outcaste, mlecha and yavana. One can change this by rising one's consciousness up, starting from the first level of human position 'Karma Kanda', that description we find in Bhagavad Gita saintly text.
On the position of Karma Kanda there is the acceptance of transcendental goal, this is a Yoga Practitioner interested in satisfying material desires by following the rules coming from the spiritual texts for example the Vedas. Here we have the fruitive workers like Daksa.
There are two kinds of karmis: 'niskama', remains attached to his duties but detached from the fruits of his work up to goodness; 'sakama' remains attached to the fruits of his work due to the association with the mode of passion, gradually his knowledge increases purifying him from passion and rising to goodness. 
Srila Prabhupada further describes Second level of 'Jnana Kanda', as Transcendental Knowledge position with Four Kumaras as an example, the next Third level 'Upasana Kanda'  Devotional Service Worship and finally he situates Vipra Brahmana Devotional Service on the Fourth level.
Jnani is fixed in goodness, realises he is not the body but a Soul, because he is fixed in goodness he may renounce his prescribed duties. Here comes the realization of Brahman. Firs yogi attains Lord Brahma's planet, with the death of Lord Brahma he transfers himself to Brahman or Vaikuntha.
On 'Astanga Yoga' level there are two distinctions: 'yogaruruksu' where yogi continues to work and 'yogarudha' when he renounces work. Yogi realizes Brahman or Paramatma. Paramatma exists only in Material World.
The last level is the level of 'Bhakti-yoga' and realization of Bhagavan.

This last level of consciousness croses the boundaries of material World and touches the relaizations on spiritual level beyond the three modes of nature in true liberation.
So far we described more or less exoteric, external aspect of the Spiritual Truth and we will continue the esoteric aspects which is considering pure bhakti and relaizations on the higher levels: see http://Soulspirit.page.tl/SoulSpirit.page.tl/ considering Sambandha Abhidheya and Prayojana.
RadhaKrsna.page.tl/

Cont....